No Prisoners, No MercyHost: Julie Whitefeather & Frances KosacThere comes a time, friends, when your favorite MMO ceases to sparkle, when even new videogames lose their luster, and the computer room becomes a prison; and all that is left are two gamers (who happen to be nuns) with a very large axe to grind. Come join Julie Whitefeather and Frances Kosac as they go to War - and along the way discuss the events of the week in the MMO industry.

Much has happened with CCP of late – Tobold believes that CCP will be out of business in 2012.If things remain as they are there is little doubt that he is right.This time Julie, Fran and Tipa sit down to discuss what may have gone wrong with CCP and Eve Online and where it is going.

'CCP' by TokenSubmitted on 2011-11-02 11:29:31 CSTCCP have just been so baffling in their stupidity. EVE could have grown into a truly great space MMO for both casuals and hardcores by now, but instead of doing this they went down 3 paths to failure simoteaneously.

1) Buying White wolf and developing a very niche, mature mmorpg, why? Hasn't it been proven that this doesnt work? Having a successful mmo is lightning in a bottle and they were lucky enough to pull it off with EVE. Why spend all these resources launching an expensive game into a crowded market with no evidence at all to show that it even has the possibility of being a huge hit.

2) Walking in stations was called 'pointless' and a waste of time by about 99.9% of hardcore players of EVE. CCP knew it was pointless years ago, thats why it never got released, then the cash shop idea made it more appealing so they wasted a load of time developing it to grab some cash. I love the idea of having a fleshed out world of EVE, walking around, but it has to be part of the expanded gameplay, like an FPS, and not just a showroom for micro-transactions.

3) Dust514. So they did decide to expand EVE into an action FPS game, something I was super excited about. But as a big fuck you to all their loyal customers, its a worthless console game, aimed at an aging console generation. Also, this is another unproven business model, trying to justify itself against the most densely packed genre in all of video gaming. Ridiculous business sense from CCP, and quite insulting to me as a PC gamer.

'Gah!' by darrenlSubmitted on 2011-11-02 19:29:19 CSTShows like this make me want to start podcasting again.

CCP has a bigger problem on their hands, and it's a cultural one. They have proven as a company that they cannot finish what they start. They announce a feature, they implement it, and then they get distracted with the next shiny object that comes up on their radar. They don't iterate and they don't improve features over time. No. They just do expansion features and then move onto the next expansion. The distractions that Token mentioned are symptoms of a greater cultural problem at CCP, and now it's hitting them where it hurts.

Usually, for things like this, you need radical management changes in order to start a new culture. I don't think the changes that CCP is doing, e.g. 20% layoff, will even come close to addressing the issue.

'Generic Post Title' by JulieSubmitted on 2011-11-03 10:41:13 CST@ token: As far as incarna goes I was excited about interacting with the other players in an environment that "was part of the expanded game play." Walking in a room in a station with a 2x4 shoved up my posterior was not part of the deal. As far as Dust 514 was concerned I understand the desire to link consoles and pc (if nothing else to see if it can be done). But making it a console only game? That leaves me feeling like CCP urinated in my morning coffee.

And buying White Wolf? That is a scenario that traps many companies that start to get successful. The classic example is the over expansion that nearly drove Starbucks out of business a number of years ago. Lateral expansion is one thing - over extension is quite another.

@ Darren: I couldn't agree more. And yes, usually for problems like this you do need radical management changes. Unfortunately in any given industry even if outside audits show that management is the problem, those who are firmly entrenched in the corporate identity rarely feel that THEY could possibly be the problem.

Oh and you or anyone else that has a few words to say on the show about any given subject are always welcome to stop by and say a few words on the show.